The Taliban’s hajj minister said Wednesday they collected 7.82 billion Afghanis (about $119.4 million) from Afghan pilgrims for this year’s hajj and will refund part of the money after some of the funds allocated for the pilgrimage remained unspent.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, Noor Mohammad Saqib said 30,000 Afghans performed the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year.
Saqib said the ministry collected 7.818 billion Afghanis (about $119.4 million) from pilgrims. Of that amount, 7.724 billion Afghanis (about $118.0 million) was spent, leaving 94.6 million Afghanis (about $1.44 million) to be returned to pilgrims.
“As a result, 3,223 Afghanis (about $49) will be refunded to each pilgrim,” Saqib said.
Taliban officials did not address complaints raised by some Afghan pilgrims during this year’s Hajj over the quality of services provided. Some pilgrims had complained that their accommodations were far from the Grand Mosque in Mecca and that transportation to Islam’s holy sites was difficult.
However, Saqib said no Afghan pilgrim died as a result of Hajj-related incidents.
Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi, the Taliban’s director general for Hajj and Umrah, said 19 Afghan pilgrims died during the pilgrimage, but attributed all of the deaths to natural causes.
“During this year’s Hajj season, 19 pilgrims died, not because of any incident, but due to natural causes,” he said.
The ministry also highlighted what it described as its achievements over the past solar year, including the construction and renovation of dozens of mosques across Afghanistan.